President Joe Biden threw his support behind the United Auto Workers’ efforts to unionize employees at Tesla Inc. and Toyota Motor Corp. in the wake of the labor group’s historic contract with Detroit’s Big Three automakers.
“Absolutely,” Biden told reporters Thursday when asked if he is in favor of the organizing drive.
Biden is again backing the union’s push for higher wages, benefits and larger membership. In the midst of the UAW’s strike against the legacy automakers, Biden made an historic appearance at a picket line to endorse the labor group’s demands.
The president spoke later in Illinois at an event to celebrate the contract, even removing his blue blazer in favor of a red UAW tee shirt. The union secured record pay agreements with Stellantis NV, General Motors Co., and Ford Motor Co. after a six-week work stoppage that cost the auto industry billions of dollars.
UAW President Shawn Fain has said he wants to use momentum from the agreement to target non-union manufacturers such as Tesla and Toyota.
Mobilizing rank-and-file union voters next year will be crucial to Biden’s reelection prospects. Biden formally launched his 2024 campaign earlier this year at a rally with union groups, signaling their importance to his campaign. The location of Thursday’s event is less than an hour’s drive from Wisconsin, a crucial swing state.
Biden met Fain and other union figures Thursday near an idled Stellantis assembly plant that will reopen under the terms of the contract. They were joined by Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker, a staunch ally of the president.
Read more: Toyota to Hike Pay for US Hourly Workers After UAW-Detroit Deals
Biden said the new contract would benefit workers beyond the Big Three, citing a decision by Toyota to raise wages for assembly workers in the US after the compensation gains negotiated by the UAW.
“They had no choice because of what you did. You helped everybody,” Biden said.
Key Endorsement
The UAW endorsed Biden’s 2020 campaign but has not yet offered its formal support for his reelection bid. Fain praised Biden’s appearance on the picket line but has pushed Democrats and the White House to be more supportive of the union and labor movement.
“They’re going to be fine,” Biden said before Thursday’s event when asked whether he would bring up an endorsement with Fain.
The White House gave Fain a gift Thursday: a framed photo of Fain speaking, with Biden standing behind him, during the picket line visit earlier this year in Detroit.
Biden praised Fain, saying he had “done one hell of a job” in negotiating the new deal. And he jabbed at former President Donald Trump, the Republican frontrunner, for visiting a non-union auto supplier in Michigan during the strike to court autoworkers.
“I hope you guys have a memory,” said Biden.
Fain is taking on an ambitious task in trying to grow the union’s membership, which is a fraction of what it was in its mid-20th century heyday. That dovetails with Biden’s goal of reviving the US labor movement.
The UAW failed at previous organizing efforts at foreign-based automakers in the US, such as Volkswagen AG. Tesla, though, offers a prominent target for the union.
The company employs tens of thousands of non-union workers across states including California, Texas, Nevada and New York, and is the leading US electric automaker. One of the union’s concerns is that the transition to electric vehicles will shrink its ranks and lower pay.
Fain has expressed optimism the union can take on Tesla and its anti-union Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk following its recent wins.
Earlier: UAW President Is Ready to Take On Tesla and Beat Elon Musk
“We can beat anybody,” Fain said in an interview last week with Bloomberg News. “It’s gonna come down to the people that work for him deciding if they want their fair share,” he added. “I believe it’s doable.”
(Updates to add Biden quotes, details from Belvidere event)